Michael Gaynor
The problem with Bill O'Reilly's insistence that President Obama's a good (albeit mistaken) guy
By Michael Gaynor
Alas, O'Reilly did not prove to be very bold and most of America still "need to know the whole truth" about Obama. O'Reilly's bent backward so far giving Obama the benefit of the doubt that he's supine.
Fox News star Bill O'Reilly presents himself as the protector of "the folks" and independent, neither Republican nor Democrat.
Last Holy Thursday, O'Reilly told his audience that he doesn't believe that President Obama is a bad guy.
Ridiculing that thought, he showed a clip of "Dr. Evil" from an Austin Powers movie and assured his audience that Obama is not "Dr. Evil."
O'Reilly really seems to get that Obamacare is unconstitutional as well as unpopular and unaffordable, but he treats it as a good-faith mistake by Obama.
Obama really seems to get that Obamacare was not passed by a "strong majority" and that it would NOT be unprecedented for the United States Supreme Court to strike down a federal statute like Obamacare, but appears not to see anything sinister in Obama's public declaration to the contrary.
O'Reilly really seems to be looking forward to interviewing Obama again, and that surely would not happen if O'Reilly pronounced Obama a bad guy.
If O'Reilly did that, he'd be instantly added to the list of interviewers that Obama avoids like the plague, including Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Mark Levin.
O'Reilly's bent backward so far giving Obama the benefit of the doubt that he's supine.
If O'Reilly really doesn't know better, then it's because he stopped looking.
It could have been otherwise.
ACORN whistleblower Anita MonCrief and Republican attorney Heather Heidelbaugh appeared on "The O'Reilly Factor" on March 18, 2009 and Fox News provided a rush transcript the next day available at www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,520701,00.html.
O'Reilly began:
"Joining us now are two women in the middle of the [NYT-ACORN] story, Heather Heidelbaugh, an attorney who sued ACORN. She's in Pittsburgh. And from Washington, Anita MonCrief, whose name is all over the place here, a former ACORN employee who became a whistleblower and talked to Stephanie Strom the reporter.
"So Ms. MonCrief, The Times guy Hoyt says the paper didn't have enough to run the Obama-ACORN connection. They didn't have enough evidence. What say you?"
O'Reilly opined: "It's not Hoyt's job to dictate what the American people care about and what they don't care about. But I don't want to be unfair to Obama. I don't know how much Obama knew about his campaign people and ACORN. The man was busy. He was out all over the place. And it's certainly, Ms. MonCrief, I'm going to give you the last word. It's certainly possible Barack Obama had no idea what was going on in the field. But I still think that The New York Times totally booted the story and was very disrespectful to you, Ms. MonCrief. You gave them a great story and they basically spiked it."
O'Reilly concluded: "All right. Well, Ms. MonCrief, we will continue on the story. Ms. Heidelbaugh, thanks for helping us out."
A link to a video of the interview is provided at www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,520701,00.html.
Ironically, O'Reilly proceeded to "boot" the story.
Provided with a damning tape of a voicemail that the Times reporter had left for MonCrief to the effect that she had been ordered to drop the story, Team O'Reilly foolishly edited out a few words, purported to save time. The redaction became the story instead of what Obama knew and when he knew it and what Obama had said about his relationship with ACORN and what it really was. Then abortionist George Tiller was killed and O'Reilly focused instead on defending himself from the charge that his bold on air references to Tiller as "baby killer" went too far.
In "The war between the New York Times and Bill O'Reilly and the truth" (www.renewamerica.com/columns/gaynor/090519), I wrote:
"It's...true that O'Reilly oversimplified his expose, apparently due to time considerations. If O'Reilly needed to redact,...he should have said he was doing so and posted a transcript of the unredacted voicemail on his website. Because what was done was done, viewers did not learn that Ms. Strom had used the 'story tonight for tomorrow' as the excuse for killing a real expose with monumental political implications that threatened The Times.
"In a subsequent phone call the same day as the voicemail, Ms. Strom frankly told Ms. MonCrief NOT that the other story was sufficient and made the story on which they had been working together insignificant, but that her editors feared 'a game changer.'
"The whole truth is really bad for The Times, the liberal media establishment, ACORN, the Obama campaign and, yes, now President Obama.
"But Americans need to know the whole truth."
Alas, O'Reilly did not prove to be very bold and most of America still "need to know the whole truth."
Otherwise Obama might be re-elected instead of rejected.
"Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." — John 8:32.
© Michael Gaynor
April 10, 2012
Alas, O'Reilly did not prove to be very bold and most of America still "need to know the whole truth" about Obama. O'Reilly's bent backward so far giving Obama the benefit of the doubt that he's supine.
Fox News star Bill O'Reilly presents himself as the protector of "the folks" and independent, neither Republican nor Democrat.
Last Holy Thursday, O'Reilly told his audience that he doesn't believe that President Obama is a bad guy.
Ridiculing that thought, he showed a clip of "Dr. Evil" from an Austin Powers movie and assured his audience that Obama is not "Dr. Evil."
O'Reilly really seems to get that Obamacare is unconstitutional as well as unpopular and unaffordable, but he treats it as a good-faith mistake by Obama.
Obama really seems to get that Obamacare was not passed by a "strong majority" and that it would NOT be unprecedented for the United States Supreme Court to strike down a federal statute like Obamacare, but appears not to see anything sinister in Obama's public declaration to the contrary.
O'Reilly really seems to be looking forward to interviewing Obama again, and that surely would not happen if O'Reilly pronounced Obama a bad guy.
If O'Reilly did that, he'd be instantly added to the list of interviewers that Obama avoids like the plague, including Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Mark Levin.
O'Reilly's bent backward so far giving Obama the benefit of the doubt that he's supine.
If O'Reilly really doesn't know better, then it's because he stopped looking.
It could have been otherwise.
ACORN whistleblower Anita MonCrief and Republican attorney Heather Heidelbaugh appeared on "The O'Reilly Factor" on March 18, 2009 and Fox News provided a rush transcript the next day available at www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,520701,00.html.
O'Reilly began:
"Joining us now are two women in the middle of the [NYT-ACORN] story, Heather Heidelbaugh, an attorney who sued ACORN. She's in Pittsburgh. And from Washington, Anita MonCrief, whose name is all over the place here, a former ACORN employee who became a whistleblower and talked to Stephanie Strom the reporter.
"So Ms. MonCrief, The Times guy Hoyt says the paper didn't have enough to run the Obama-ACORN connection. They didn't have enough evidence. What say you?"
O'Reilly opined: "It's not Hoyt's job to dictate what the American people care about and what they don't care about. But I don't want to be unfair to Obama. I don't know how much Obama knew about his campaign people and ACORN. The man was busy. He was out all over the place. And it's certainly, Ms. MonCrief, I'm going to give you the last word. It's certainly possible Barack Obama had no idea what was going on in the field. But I still think that The New York Times totally booted the story and was very disrespectful to you, Ms. MonCrief. You gave them a great story and they basically spiked it."
O'Reilly concluded: "All right. Well, Ms. MonCrief, we will continue on the story. Ms. Heidelbaugh, thanks for helping us out."
A link to a video of the interview is provided at www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,520701,00.html.
Ironically, O'Reilly proceeded to "boot" the story.
Provided with a damning tape of a voicemail that the Times reporter had left for MonCrief to the effect that she had been ordered to drop the story, Team O'Reilly foolishly edited out a few words, purported to save time. The redaction became the story instead of what Obama knew and when he knew it and what Obama had said about his relationship with ACORN and what it really was. Then abortionist George Tiller was killed and O'Reilly focused instead on defending himself from the charge that his bold on air references to Tiller as "baby killer" went too far.
In "The war between the New York Times and Bill O'Reilly and the truth" (www.renewamerica.com/columns/gaynor/090519), I wrote:
"It's...true that O'Reilly oversimplified his expose, apparently due to time considerations. If O'Reilly needed to redact,...he should have said he was doing so and posted a transcript of the unredacted voicemail on his website. Because what was done was done, viewers did not learn that Ms. Strom had used the 'story tonight for tomorrow' as the excuse for killing a real expose with monumental political implications that threatened The Times.
"In a subsequent phone call the same day as the voicemail, Ms. Strom frankly told Ms. MonCrief NOT that the other story was sufficient and made the story on which they had been working together insignificant, but that her editors feared 'a game changer.'
"The whole truth is really bad for The Times, the liberal media establishment, ACORN, the Obama campaign and, yes, now President Obama.
"But Americans need to know the whole truth."
Alas, O'Reilly did not prove to be very bold and most of America still "need to know the whole truth."
Otherwise Obama might be re-elected instead of rejected.
"Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." — John 8:32.
© Michael Gaynor
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
